Mice

[Nia]

Awesome! Yea idk I think it is the difference between the boys and they girls with the nervousness. Girls naturally just being more cautious lol. Boys tend to be more friendly and outgoing n the girls more of the you need to work for my trust lol. Ugh I remember that smell lol sadly unless you get the filters or vitamins with the odor removers in it...it will always kick ya in the face lol. I have 3 girls atm n only really hold my teensy lol the other two are like ok I see you but no I am not coming out of my house unless you have food lol. Teensy is my baby and was a rescue too. Cat attack and picked on by other mice pretty badly so I took her as a baby. So she has two "sisters" kind shocked they get along so well, not on her part cause she was so lonely but on the older sisters part. Sammy is just a baby herself so she liked her but Misha was a nerve wracking intro. Everyone always picks on my poor teensy. Even for an adult she is small. Tho the way she runs in the wheel you would never know she has a messed up foot. These 3 are in separable now and she is no longer lonely. She is my pocket mouse too lol. Mine don't have all the fun stuff yours does atm. They usually just push it over and want nothing to do with anything but the wheel. They are tiny "jumper" mice so their tank is a small one so not to much room for a lot of stuff anyway. I do need to put in another wheel before the shoot Sammy across the tank lol. She for some reason loves to run on the top of the wheel while Teensy is running in it .

[wodesorel]

I'm loving all the photos and stories!!

Nia - off topic, but was the medicine metacam by chance? I had an old cat that had surgery once, and after his first dose he came running for that stuff, took it without me putting a finger on him, and wanted it so bad he cracked the syringes trying to get to it quicker. I've never had another cat do that with a med, but we only used metacam a few times after that.

[Nia]

No it wasn't that....I forget what it was called atm but it smelled like licorice. That stuff really smelled good lol. I had it left over from my hairless guinea pig who had a major health problem called loxia. He had to be bottled fed 4 times a day with that special blend. He was a spoiled lil boy too lol. Ollie's other med was very small dose of Amoxicillan. Vet often gave it to me in big containers lol for as needed purposes. I was so often getting in sick rescues that he gave me extra to keep on hand lol. I remember that was to keep any infection at bay and he was allowed very small/watered down infant Tylenol for the extreme pain he was in. Also loads of neosporin! Poor guy got that smeared on Everything I could! My vet said I had acted very well for not have dealt with a case like that, ever. I hope that I never have to ever again -.-. As soon as I got him I flushed his system with really watered down pedialyte and just kept at it all night. He said it helped not only save him but it got out the majority of the radiation he was exposed to. He was honestly shocked he lived the night...it was that bad -.-. Even tho he looked horrid he was moving around by the next day. Slowly he got better but as time went on he lost more n more limbs and those meds luckily kept him from getting infections/gangrene.

I so wish my cats took meds that good lmao. Mine run around looking all rabid foaming at the mouth for a half hour and drooling over EVERYTHING lol. Then complain that they are wet and have to wash....well duh you just drooled all over yourself and everything in your war path .

[CallaLily]

I noticed Hashbrown, who is a bit tubby, has some trouble getting down from the egg carton level of their MES. Instead of climbing down the ladder she had gone up, she was going over to the popsicle stick bridge, then hopping down onto the flying saucer which of course sent her spinning. So I added an easier path and she seems quite happy with it.



And one of her on the fleece level.



I'm told brindles are prone to obesity and all I can really do is try and exercise her more and limit treats. As of the 4th of this month she was 64g. In comparison (though really it depends on the mouse) Cheeseburger is 44g, Bacon is 39g, and Twix is 35g. I keep forgetting to weigh Daryl.


Edit: finally weighed Daryl. He's 39-40g. The scale kept fluctuating between the two.

[Nia]

Lol I guess that was Fluffy's problem she was a brindle. They look great. Don't they tear all of that apart? Or do I just have destro mice!?

[CallaLily]

They do chew their own holes and things. All the bits you see around Hashbrown on the fleece are pieces of the egg carton above. They've chewed new openings in the maze box too and the popsicle stick bridge is shorter than what I originally made it from them chewing through the twine. Cheeseburger and Twix are usually a little more destructive than Bacon and Hashbrown and Daryl flies through MES so much faster because he pees and poos and chews on them a lot. It's worth it though, all the hot glue burns are forgotten when they're sparking around happily about their new toys.

[Nia]

Lol awww. Yea it is the same for mine lol. Even the crabs....so destructive lol. At least it gives you an excuse to rearrange their tats and give them new toys lol.

[sugarselections]

Calla- I didn't know mice weighed so much. I think of them as being very tiny compared to my sugar gliders but one of my gliders is barely over 100 grams. When I got him as a joey he was about 50 grams. I love seeing the photos of your mice. I'm about 99% decided that I won't get more gliders after mine pass away (they're currently getting a bit elderly but I'm weirdly convinced they might be immortal) but I'd love to still have some kind of small and furry pet that requires more normal care and not the insane time, energy, and money that the gliders do.

[wodesorel]

The mice I can get for other uses (sorry mice owners! ) top out at 50 grams... That is one chunky gal!

[CallaLily]

There are members on the mouse forum I'm on that have ones that weigh more! And I believe, show-type mice are larger all around. I think Hash is quite the tubby girl too. She gets around ok but you can definitely tell it effects her. She's just not as nimble as the others. It's one reason I'm really wanting to move them up from a 10g to at least a 15g. 20g would be better. But I take them out for playtime in a 33" x 18" bin for more exercise too. I know there are quite a few of the opinion that "too much" space can make for timid or territorial mice but Daryl is doing great in the 29 and the other girls do well in the 15. Can't hurt to try once I can find one for cheap.

Some cute pics of Daryl from today:













I picked up this cool bird ladder the other day. One of the other ladies over on the mouse forum shared a pic of the one she found so of course I had to look when we stopped in at a pet store I don't usually go to. It's just so neat and he loves it!



Sorry for the flash.

[Crabinski]

Calla- I didn't know mice weighed so much. I think of them as being very tiny compared to my sugar gliders but one of my gliders is barely over 100 grams. When I got him as a joey he was about 50 grams.

Wode, my mousie girls started out slim at about 3-4 months old and have turned into very solid ladies at about 13-14 months old. Cordelia is actually quite Reubenesque ! At 3-4 months: Anya 28g, Buffy 30g, Cordelia 27g, Tara 31g and Willow 28g. At 13-14 months: Anya 51g, Buffy 52g, Cordelia 53g, Tara 40g and Willow 53g. The build of the particular mouse is deceptive: Tara at 40g still has a lean shape, Willow and Cordelia both weigh 53g but Willow carries it better. The fact that Cordelia is a champagne satin doesn't help: chunky girls should never wear shiny clothing as it only emphasizes those curves !

[CallaLily]

Cheeseburger has held at 40-44g since I first weighed my mice in October. Twix has ranged 29-35g, Bacon 26-39g (the low there is from when the other girls were really bullying her and led me to split them). Hashbrown has went from 34g to 64g. I think all but Hashbrown look at a healthy weight for their body size. Though Daryl does seem to have a bit of a belly.

[Asheka]

Adorable pics and I don't personally understand the "more space, more timid" thing. Maybe it differs from rats to mice, but when I upgraded my boys to a double Critter Nation, they were a million times more active and cuddly.

[CallaLily]

I get starting them off small until you've tamed them. Remembering how my girls were when I first got them, I could see a mouse being harder to tame in a larger setup. But I think once you've gotten to know them, more space may be enjoyed. I'm sure there are mice who wouldn't do well with more room. I just don't feel it's really a one size fits all. Daryl has been in the 29 and he uses every inch of it. I think if I'd put him in a 10 he'd go stir-crazy. lol

I think the important thing when trying to move them up to a larger tank is to remember to fill it with a bunch of toys and hides. Wide open spaces, I could definitely see being an issue. But filled up properly with hides and things, I think many mice would greatly enjoy.

But who knows. Years down the road when I have more mousey experience, I may sing a different tune.

[wodesorel]

Isn't it like gerbils where given too much space the group splits and can get into territorial fights? Rodents are odd in that respect, give them space and they want all of it for themselves.